So Jake Delhomme Is Trash: Now What?

Let's face it. I'm not the only one with a knee-jerk reaction. And yes, it's only the first week of the season.

But give me a break. Hell, give Carolina a break.

Jon Fox hasn't had back-to-back winning seasons with the Panthers, and a solid reason why is Jake Delhomme. He's either hurt, or he's playing poorly.

Seriously, what good has he truly done since guiding Carolina to its only Super Bowl appearance?

Very little, if any.

He was actually sensational to start 2007, but an arm injury killed his awesome three-game tease of eight touchdowns to only one interception.

Because of Delhomme, we were forced to watch David Carr, Matt Moore, and a sad, pathetic Vinny Testaverde.

Then there was last year—Delhomme's comeback attempt—which was really only a success because of his awesome running game. But what happened when Carolina hit the playoffs and actually needed some help through the air?

Five picks. Game over.

An entire offseason later? Nothing has changed.

Delhomme is 0-2 in his last two starts, has thrown nine interceptions, and has less than 300-combined yards during that span.

Believe what you will, but the only way to get this team rolling on all cylinders is to change the makeup of their offense altogether.

Here's a look at 10 quarterbacks who have youth and talent on their side, and ought to be tugging on their owners' sleeves to give Carolina a call.

Oh, and don't buy the A.J. Feeley hype. Signing him was a necessity with the loss of Josh McCown to IR. They need a real quarterback in Carolina.

Brodie Croyle- Kansas City Chiefs

Up until this past Sunday, you probably could have gotten Croyle for a couple bucks and a pair of tickets to go see U2. Now, however, he's quickly becoming a commodity.

Matt Cassel is the sure-fire "guy" in KC, making Croyle relatively available.

After two touchdowns and 177 yards against Baltimore in week one, Croyle is back in good graces, both with the Chiefs, as well as the rest of the NFL.

Which brings us to...

Tyler Thigpen- Kansas City Chiefs

Before Cassel came along, Thigpen had everyone doing jumping jacks and cart-wheels over the spread offense. Obviously with the addition of Todd Haley as head coach, Thigpen would either have to adjust or take a back-seat.

Still, Thigpen proved in 2008 with 18 touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards that he can be productive in the right system. And with his solid arm strength and great athleticism, he would be an easy talent upgrade over the aging Delhomme.

A better quarterback? It's arguable. But at only 25, he'd at least have room to grow.

Chris Simms/Kyle Orton- Denver Broncos

This sounds crazy, I know. But the New York Jets are holding onto New England cast-off Kevin O'Connell simply because they know Josh McDaniels would scoop him up if he were available.

So, it would only make sense for all three parties to get what they wanted. Carolina would ship Delhomme out of town as a quality backup to either Denver or New York, with Carolina sending Julius Peppers to New York, and Denver landing their prized quarterback of the future, Kevin O'Connell.

Simms or Orton would in turn be the answer for Carolina's problems, providing it with a quality game manager, instead of the inept mess that Delhomme is.

Crazy, yes. Impossible, no.

Derek Anderson- Cleveland Browns

This makes sense, at least for Carolina, because Anderson has a rocket arm to get Steve Smith the deep ball and should be remotely on the trade block due to Eric Mangini committing to Brady Quinn.

Mangini would get Delhomme in return, giving Quinn a veteran to rely on, while Brett Ratliff still rounds out a quality quarterback corps.

It's a win-win for both sides, and DA's talent and big arm don't go to waste.

Rex Grossman- Houston Texans

It'd be a hard sell to get Houston to cough-up Grossman, who, despite his past history, is actually shaping out to be quite the quality backup.

He still has a good arm and solid athleticism and would definitely be a talent upgrade, while arguably being able to do no worse than what Delhomme has already done.

He also has experience with Muhsin Muhammad and knows how to get to a Super Bowl...Kind of. He watched the Bears' defense do it, anyway.

Kevin Kolb- Philadelphia Eagles

I know it's not very realistic, as Kolb is supposed to be "the future" of the Eagles, but if you think about it, is he really in their plans?

He certainly was the heir apparent to Donovan McNabb coming out of college, but something tells me the signing of both Michael Vick and Jeff Garcia has a lot more to do with Kolb than it does with McNabb.

McNabb is only 32. He's not going to be done for a good three to five years. Where does that leave Kolb? Getting shipped off to Carolina for Julius Peppers, is where it leaves him.

Alex Smith- San Francisco 49ers

I know what you're thinking: What's the point in trading an old turnover machine for a young turnover machine?

Well, Smith is a lot better than people give him credit for. While his preseason performance didn't do him any favors, you'd be a fool to believe that he actually stood a chance with Mike Singletary calling the shots.

Singletary wants to keep his job, so he went with what worked last year—the guy who manages the game and doesn't take stupid chances.

But playing a Trent Dilfer-clone only gets you so far.

Smith has a good arm and tons of athleticism and could give Carolina a unique dimension it's never even sniffed before.

Chad Pennington- Miami Dolphins

This would go against the "youth movement" idea for the quarterback position, but it'd make sense on both sides.

Miami already told Chaddy that he's not in their plans past 2009, while Carolina would bring him in to rescue the season and manage games and then look to add depth in next year's draft.

Is he a savior? Probably not. But then again, he did save the Dolphins last year.

Tarvaris Jackson- Minnesota Vikings

The problem with T-Jax or Sage Rosenfels is that, if Minnesota wasn't sold on them, what makes anyone think Carolina would magically want them?

Honestly though, they hit the bottom of the list. While Rosenfels probably isn't even really available, Jackson can be had for next to nothing.

He wouldn't really bring Carolina what they're looking for, but would he be a downgrade from what Delhomme is bringing to the table?

In the end, Carolina may not do anything at all. They might cut or bench Delhomme, while simply settling with what they have in either Matt Moore or A.J. Feeley.

But that's not really the point, is it?

The point is, regardless of how early it is in the season, it's a safe bet that none of the quarterbacks on their roster are going to get the job done.